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Download the Cognitive Ladder diagnostic tools: MAAponte.Substack.com

We explore why identity is not a job title but the pattern of thought that runs your choices when the pressure hits. We map three layers of identity, show how unconscious drivers hijack decisions, and lay out practical steps to build a resilient thinking identity.

• story of shifting roles without changing core thinking
• difference between roles and identity
• three layers of identity: surface, aspirational, operating
• identity wounds and how they drive decisions
• common operating identities and their costs
• case studies in school leadership and crisis choices
• questions to diagnose your operating identity
• a four-step method to change identity
• if-then plans, evidence journals, and community
• personal shift from proving to learning

I share my own journey from "Prove you're not a failure" to "Someone who learns from everything"—and how that shift changed every decision I make. You'll learn:

• How to diagnose your current operating identity
• Why your identity sabotages your thinking under stress
• The 5-step process to build a new identity deliberately
• Common operating identities that hold leaders back ("Prove you're smart enough," "Fix everything yourself," "Don't make waves")
• Why shame-based aspirational identities paralyze instead of motivate

Join my Substack. I give a ton away for free, including my podcast notes. And if you sign up for the $10, you get exclusive information and an additional podcast episode from yours truly. Link is in the description. I hope you sign up. No cost to you.

#CriticalThinking #Leadership #Identity #DecisionMaking

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